The
Double Kilij is a curved small blade that comes in pairs. It originates from the
Shendar tribe and is mostly used by
the men since the women prefer the bane whip. The
blade was used in fights and battles since the
Shendar tribes formed. In times of
peace its usefulness circles around the beauty it contains when employed in the
ShendarSword
Dance. It is both deadly and beautiful.

Picture description. A Shendar from the Shen'Siuu ("Salt People")
tribe practicing his skills with the Double Kilij Blade. Image
drawn by Seeker.

Description. The
Double Kilij has a blade length of almost two
fores and curves out
towards its tip spanning to nearly a palmspan at its widest point. The sword has
a 'T' shaped cross section on the back of the blade that helps to give it
greater strength. Despite the expansion of the width the metal is kept thin. The
tip of the blade flares out causing a 'u' at the very top where the point on the
left of the u is slightly higher than the right and more pointed. This part of
the sword is called the yelman.

The hilt of the Dou‘Kilij is thick with grooves made for the hand of the
particular Shendar
who wields it, making it slightly uncomfortable for everyone else but the
original owner to use it perfectly. The sword
hilt is thin due to the groove across the hilt where the swords
attach merging them to one sword.
A warrior might choose to fight with the Double Kilij as one sword
or separate it into two depending on the situation. It also makes it easier for
carrying and deceiving opponents that are unfamiliar with the
weapon.

Usage.
The Double Kilij is used by the Shendar tribe
and mostly wielded by the men. Nowadays it is a
weapon needed
for dealings with outsiders who can only understand strength by
weaponry. The Kilij shows that because its deadliness
is apparent in how it looks as well as how it is used. In former time its
predecessor, the single Kilij was primarily invented to be able to solve
quarrels between the tribes without killing the opponent.

Because of its length and its curved shape it is a
weapon that
can be used both on foot and riding. Its curved blade is good for cleaving and
swinging. The Dou'Kilij is in every way an offensive
weapon and
though the initial intention of its design was that it could be used without
damaging the opponent too hard, it is perfect for killing as well.

In times of peace the Dou‘Kilij is used in a Sword
Dance. This is a competition, mostly among the men, where the wielder shows his
agility and the beauty of the blade through a dance. It is a magnificent as well
as dangerous dance where the best are invited to perform in ceremonies.

Fighting Style.
There are two different styles how to fight with the Dou‘Kilij, one can use the
swords as Two-in-One or fight with them in Double
style:

Two-in-One
When the blade is attached by the hilt it can be used as a single
sword. This can be useful when riding. Since one just
needs to swing when going by. The curved shape is good for cleaving and the
yelman strengthens the weapon's ability to slice and
make deeper wounds. Unfortunately the grip on the sword
is harder to maintain in this form and so makes it easier for a person to unhand
the weapon in face to face combat.

Double
Using the weapon as two swords
is the most useful. The weapon slices deep and has the
ability to cleave things in two with greater ease because of its curved form.
The tip can be used for hooking and jerking, a very brutal practice of the
Kilij. The width of the blade helps to deflect
aerial attacks. The inside of the blade is used in order to hook
swords and to unarm opponents. This part of the blade
can be used to crush instead of cut if necessary.

One of the disadvantages of
the weapons is that the attacks
are mostly done from the side. The blade is not made for
thrusting, so it therefore limits the motions the swords
can be used to perform attacks.

Origin/History. The
forerunner of the Double Kilij was the Single Kilij, a
weapon invented by Kadar the True, the man who became later the very first
H‘rul Zheon. He was one of the greatest personalities the
Shendar people ever had, concerned
about the welfaring of all Shendar
and not only of his birth tribe, the Shen-D'auras. As the driving force behind
the unification efforts he wanted to develop a weapon
which could be used for fights within the sub tribes themselves, which occurred
quite often back then. The idea was to provide a means of fight without
necessarily deadly consequences.

The actual Double Kilij was the idea of Asilah, daughter of Asra, an outstanding
woman in the Shen-Siuu tribe. Trade with Strata
and Thalambath led to contacts with a
different way of life and Shendar men
were scoffed due to their new formed society where it seemed that the woman had
all the power - and the property. They were even attacked because they were seen
as weak. Seeing that the men of outside societies judged strength by violence it
was obvious that an appearance of strength was necessary. So Asilah, who was a
skilled swordfighter, thought about how to improve
appearance and properties of the Kilij.

This appearance of strength was invented with the Double Kilij. She enhanced the
old simple Kilij to a new weapon, one which was both
physically daunting as well as deadly, but also one that would allow for fights
among tribe members without leading to death. The blades grew in popularity and
soon they came in use by the northern tribes of the D'auras and Kha'si as well.

The Sword
Dance. The Double Kilij is a beautiful weapon.
So it is not astonishing that it was soon used outside fights and internal
quarrels - as a tool for the most challenging dance - the
Sword Dance. The origin is lost, but lore goes, that
Bardavos artists initiated it in a way.
Many famous names could be counted here, but only two shall be mentioned, Mahir,
son of Rihanna, a Shendar man from
the Kha'si and and Rukan, daughter of Sah'lah, a woman from the Shen-D'auras.
They danced together in a way unsurpassed till now.

The Sword Dance as an acknowledge way of competition
soon developed into a sort of duel as well, letting the competitors fighting
through the dance instead of actual violence. Serious disputes between two
Shendar which cannot be solved in
another way are fought out by dancing with the sword.
Before the ruling-dance the terms of clearing are fixed - the better dancer
wins.